


Tales of life after death

by Outcastarrow14



Category: Danny Phantom
Genre: Angst, Body Horror, Casper High (Danny Phantom), Comedy, Fluff, Ghost Zone (Danny Phantom), Horror, Hurt/Comfort, I am pretty much gonna use every character just wait, Multi
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2021-02-10
Updated: 2021-02-19
Packaged: 2021-03-16 05:46:54
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 3
Words: 7,566
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/29327238
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Outcastarrow14/pseuds/Outcastarrow14
Summary: The world now knows Danny is half-ghost, but they don't fully grasp what that means just yet. Read as the citizens of amity try to come to terms with their new normal, which is somehow weirder than before.
Comments: 18
Kudos: 177





	1. Chapter 1

**Author's Note:**

> Hey, guys so this is my first story after a long Hiatus. I used to go by Smallvillephantom14 on FF.net but I plan on posting to both FF.net and Ao3 now and my Ao3 name will be outcastarrow14. Feel free to read my stuff on either.  
> I plan on updating, rewriting (in some cases), and continuing a bunch of stories from my FF.net account. So, look out for those.  
> But I also wanted to start a one-shot series to kind of just get the juices flowing.  
> All these one-shots will be after Phantom planet and will be based around the people adjusting to Danny as a half-ghost and Danny getting used to the fact that things are different now.

Mr. lancer’s class had been abuzz with whispers and gossip, not that the teacher himself was surprised. Today was the first day of the new school year sure, but he knew that that was not what was causing all the chatter in class.

Today was not just the first day of Sophomore year, it was also the first day that Danny Fenton would be out and about in some public form since he had revealed himself as a half-ghost and had saved the world.

It had been over two weeks since the incident and the boy had made zero public appearances, he did not even show up for the dedication ceremony of the statue that now stood tall in amity park’s gardens. (The gardens were really a town Park, but the locals felt that calling it amity park’s park was redundant) The only ones who had shown up for the ceremony had been the rest of the Fenton family. Sam and Tucker too of course, but Tucker had been expected given he was the new mayor after all.

Mr. lancer frowned at the thought, realizing that this would be the first year that he did not have all three in his class. Mr. Foley was receiving private lessons so he could keep up with his workload and Ms. Manson was gifted, she was taking all honors courses this year. That meant that young Daniel would be on his own today. Well, for the most part, he supposed that maybe Daniel and Sam could meet up over lunch but that was assuming the school was kind enough to allow their schedules to do that. Either way, this was going to be a big change for the young boy and Mr. lancer wanted to be there for him as much as he could. He felt awful for how he had treated Daniel in the past, if he had known just how complicated the young teen's life was then he could have offered more help. Given him the time and attention he deserved. In a way he was grateful that the school was now making him teach the freshman and sophomore English classes, he understood it was because the school was short-staffed and that it meant he would have a larger workload, but it also meant that he had a chance to do better.

Mr. Lancer started to scroll his name over the chalkboard, he figured he should get started. He had been told that Daniel would arrive 15 mins late to class, so he had time to find his locker and get set up for the school day without being hounded by other students. It was 10 mins past now and Mr. Lancer did not want the boy to be behind.

The teacher was pulled from his thoughts by the soft click of the classroom door opening, the whole room went silent.

In the doorway stood Danny Fenton, the boy looked highly uncomfortable and did not lock eyes with anyone as he shuffled to the very back of the classroom. Picking a seat that was far away from everyone else. But the distance did not stop the stares and Mr. Lancer couldn’t blame them. He was having a hard time not staring too, after all the boy had just walked in with an ice pack pressed to the side of his face. Was he hurt?

Of all the situations that Mr. Lancer had practiced in his head to help him plan out how to make today more comfortable for the young hero, none of them involved him walking in with an ice pack. 

Finally, after a long beat of silence, one of Danny’s classmates spoke up in concern.

“Are you alright Dude?” Kwan asked “Did you get into a fight? I didn’t see anything on the news.”

Danny looked up from his textbook, he had just opened it up to the chapter specified on the board and regarded the jock with a look of confusion.

“No, I didn’t get into a fight. Things have been kind of quiet lately. Why?”

The class went silent again. This time though it was Mr. Lancer who decided to cut in.

“Why the Ice pack then?”

Danny blinked, realization dawning on his face before it broke out into a blush.

“Um..” Danny rubbed his neck sheepishly. “Phantom—I mean my ghost half, sorry still not used to other people knowing that—How do I put this….”

The mention of Phantom immediately peaked everyone’s interest, but also sparked a lot of confusion. Danny was in his human form right now, why would he bring up his ghost half first to explain why he needed an ice pack? Why was he blushing?

“My fangs are coming in….” Danny bit out in a fast sentence. “And it hurts so, that’s why I have an ice pack. And I know it's weird. Well, weird for a human to get fangs. But it is normal for ghosts to get them and I am not exactly all human. Which is just weird to say out loud and maybe I could have worded that better.”

Mr. lancer watched as the young boy buried his head in his arms, it took him a few seconds to process what Danny had just said.

“Do you need to see the nurse? If it’s bothering you, I am sure they could give you some pain medication. I would hate for you to have a hard time focusing in class.”

Danny blinked up at Mr. Lancer briefly with a look of shock, before bursting out into uncontrollable laughter.

The reaction made the students closest to Danny jump.

The young half ghost only stopped when he realized just how uncomfortable he seemed to be making his classmates. He shrunk in his chair a bit.

“Sorry, thank you so much for the offer to go, I appreciate it. I shouldn’t have laughed; it was just funny to me how ironic this exchange was.” Danny explained in a now much more solemn tone as he fiddled with the new NASA hoodie Jazz had gotten him. Mr. lancer watched as the boy twirled the hoodie strings around his fingers.

“why was it Ironic?” Mr. lancer asked.

Danny swallowed and licked his lips.

“Um… The last time I asked to go to the nurse’s office you told me that I was fine, and I needed to stop trying to skip class. But I had just got out of a bad fight and my ribs were broken. I had just set them in place before coming into class so they would heal properly. I heal fast so if I don’t do that, I have to rebreak them again later. I was in a lot of pain that day. And you told me no… and now you’re offering to let me go over a toothache.” Danny answered softly, not making eye contact with his teacher. “I guess now that I say it out loud it's not all that funny anymore…”

Mr. Lancer felt a cold chill of guilt wash over him. Broken ribs?? He showed up to class with broken ribs?? He knew now that the young boy missed so much school because of ghost attacks but it never occurred to him that Danny had tried so hard to be here that he showed up to class with broken ribs?? How many other times had he showed up injured and just didn’t say anything? How many times had he dismissed Danny’s suffering because he had assumed the boy was a bad student?

Mr. lancer’s mind suddenly fed him every memory he had of the boy. He now realized with horror that all the times he had teased the boy for not paying attention, for needing a question or answer repeated, for writing too slow to keep up with the notes…..Danny may have been in immense pain. And the boy just sat there and took the abuse from his teacher. Harsh words that never should have been said to him. 

Mr. Lancer’s train of thought was interrupted when Danny let out a harsh gasp, he looked up in just enough time to see blue mist escape the boy’s mouth as his whole body was wracked in a shiver.

“Shit” Danny cursed, He stood up from his desk and called on his ghost half. White rings passing over his body, “So much for things being quiet.”

Utter confusion gave way to fear, because if Danny was changing that meant a ghost was here right?

Just then a large white yeti burst through the classroom door.

Everyone started screaming bloody murder and scrambled behind Danny as best as they could, practically tripping over each other. 

“Frostbite??” Danny Squawked in confusion as the yeti wasted no time in scooping the young halfa up in a giant hug.

“GREAT ONE” the creature bellowed with a hardy laugh before setting the boy back down and giving his hair a ruffle. 

“Hey watch the hair!” Danny said with a chuckle as he removed the old yeti’s paw from his head and gave the toe beans a poke for good measure. “Not that I am not excited to see you, but what are you doing here? How the heck did you even find me??”

“Well, I got your Message of text this morning requiring your request for aid with your fangs and I thought of how often you embark on long trips to seek my medical attention, I thought maybe with your secrete being out, it would be a good gesture of faith to come to you instead!” The yeti boomed, a fanged smile never leaving his face.

“well, I appreciate it frostbite I really do but, you can’t just show up in the human world unannounced! You could have gotten shot at!” Danny explained in worry. Frostbite was a good friend and a kind being, he did not want him hurt.

Mr. lancer and the rest of his class now watched in shocked silence as Danny flew around the yeti ghost who was apparently named frostbite. The boy seemed to be inspecting the older ghost for something, it took Mr. lancer a second to realize that he was probably looking for ecto-gun related wounds. 

Frostbite stopped the boy midflight, something Danny did not appreciate because he let out a very high pitch whine. A noise the humans had never heard him make before, but frostbite was all too familiar with. After all Half ghost or not, Danny was still a ghost and he still had instinctual behaviors that just were not human. And given Danny’s obsession with keeping everyone safe, especially those he cared about, he was not surprised when the whine turned into soft keening. He could still see the boy's busy and anxious eyes at work trying to assess if he needed help or not. 

Frostbite cupped Danny’s face and forced him to look up at him.

“Great one, I am fine. The infinity map brought me directly to your classroom door. No one has tried to harm me.”

Danny seemed to breathe a sigh of relief and allowed his feet to settle on the ground again. 

“Though I do believe I scared some of the humans that inhabit your haunt.” Frostbite continued as he bowed in the direction of Mr. lancer and Danny’s classmates. “I believe we got off on the wrong paw. My name is Frostbite, and I am the leader of a tribe in the ghost zone. We are known as the people of the far frozen. I would never harm anyone the Great one has claimed as part of his tribe here in the great city of amity. I hope we can move forward from this moment on without fear.”

Mr. Lancer's body was moving before he had a chance to really think. He bowed in return to the yeti, he didn’t understand why the bowing was necessary. Was this a formal greeting for ghosts? Where was the far frozen? What was the ghost zone? Why was he calling his student Great One? Was Daniel a beloved hero for some ghosts as well as humans? Was that how he got so many to help him turn the earth intangible? He referred to Amity as Danny’s haunt, and said that they belonged to Danny’s tribe. Did ghosts view Daniel as the leader of the humans here? He had a million questions, and he wanted to ask them, but all of them died in his throat when he looked up and saw how happy Danny suddenly was. 

“Mr. Lancer, you’re awesome.”

Mr. Lancer blinked at the compliment. Why was he…wait because he bowed? He looked back at the rest of his students; he was the only human to move. He looked back over at the yeti who was still awkwardly bowing. It suddenly clicked in his head that he was waiting for the rest of the kids to respond.

“Come on kids don’t be rude show the nice ghost some respect.” Mr. lancer commanded.

He watched as the children all slowly stood up and returned the gesture.

Mr. Lancer looked back in enough time to see the yeti straighten up and clasp a paw on Phantom’s shoulder. Danny was grinning from ear to ear. Mr. Lancer was not exactly sure what happened, but it was obvious to him that this exchange meant something to the boy.

“I like this one Great One” Frostbite bellowed with laughter before turning his attention back to the teacher. “Mr. Lancer was it?”

“Y-yes,” the teacher stuttered out “I am one of Daniels teachers.”

“Teachers?” Frostbite gasped “Well no wonder you were the first to overcome your fear, I should have recognized. The Great One had to learn it from somewhere. You must be an inspiration among many. Especially if he is giving you high praise!”

Mr. Lancer didn’t know how to respond to that and let out a slight squeak when the yeti pulled him in for a one-armed hug.

“It is such an honor to meet you! I am happy the great one has a man of such quality to help mold him into whom he is going to be!”

“It's nice to meet you as well Mr. Frostbite.” Mr. lancer said shakenly after the yeti had let him go. He was collecting himself to continue the conversation but stopped when he noticed Danny was scrunched up in the air, the ice pack back on his face and his eyes screwed shut in pain.

He had been so caught up in the moment, he had forgotten what Danny had said when he came in. Phantom was getting fangs. He wondered if the tooth pain was more painful when he was in his ghost form because Daniel suddenly looked worse.

“Danny are you alright?” he said, voicing his concern. 

It was that moment that Frostbite turned his attention to Danny as well, ushering the young boy to sit on a desk. Danny followed the instruction without fussing.

Mr. lancer watched as the yeti placed a paw over Danny’s forehead.

“Your temp is a little high.” The yeti frowned and cupped Danny’s face again—Careful of his mouth—And made the young halfa look at him. “Do you have any core pain?”

Danny shrunk under the yeti’s gaze and shook his head not making eye contact.

“Great one, I understand not wanting to worry anyone but the only one you are hurting in the long run with that type of thinking is yourself. Now again, any core pain?” Frostbite asked again in a stern voice, one typically used by a parent.

“Maybe a little” Danny responded; guilt clear on his face. “Not as bad as the teeth pain though and my teeth hurt in my human form too for some reason.”

The yeti hummed crossing his arms in thought, before retrieving some tools from his bag and dropping to his knees.

“let's take a look at those teeth then”

Danny opened his mouth wide. Exposing a rather terrifying display of teeth that made Mr. Lancer's breath hitch in his throat. His student didn’t just have one row of teeth on the top and bottom of his mouth, no he had multiple. The site was Dizzying. He heard some gasps from his students behind him. Luckily Danny was too preoccupied with the yeti’s fingers poking around in his mouth to notice.

Mr. Lancer decided that he needed to take control of the situation. There were only another 20 minutes left of class roughly, so he did not want to start his lesson plan. But at least he could take attendance now and pass around the syllabus.

“Well class,” Mr. lancer said as he clapped his hands together and walked back to the front of the room. Danny’s eyes followed him as he did so. The boy was no doubt trying to figure out if he was seriously still going to teach or not. “I figure while Danny is busy with his checkup the least, we can do is take attendance. Everyone to their seats.”

Danny relaxed a bit after hearing that.

The other students filed back to their seats and answered when Mr. Lancer called their names for attendance. He was about to move on to passing out the syllabus when Dash asked a question, only it wasn’t directed at him.

“Why do you keep calling Fenton Great one?” The jock asked.

Mr. Lancer was hoping to cause a distraction so Danny wouldn’t feel self-conscious, he was sure the boy already hated the extra attention he was getting and that was without a yeti poking around in his mouth.

The yeti regarded the jock with confusion, Danny tried to say something around the yeti’s hands, but it came out as slobbery gibberish and didn’t stop Frostbite from responding.

“Because he defeated the Murderous and cruel tyrant Pariah dark and is not only the savior of the ghost zone because of such an action but also the rightful new Monarch of the infinite realms, assuming he ever decides to actually claim the title.”

Danny choked and ripped the yeti’s hands from his mouth.

“Frostbite,” Danny shouted between gaging. He had mistakenly inhaled some of the yeti’s fur in shock. “Why the –heck would you say THAT”

The two then began a very heated discussion in a language no one else in the room understood but it was obvious that Danny was Pissed, and frostbite was very sorry.

Mr. Lancer’s head was spinning. Daniel was a king…..

He was teaching a King….

A ghost king….. Lancer's mind flashed back to the army of ghosts that Danny had led out of a portal to the earth's aid. Was that because they saw him as……

He paled and sat down, Regarding his student yet again for the third time today with a new light.

He was starting to understand why his student kept so much of his double life to himself. There was no taking it back now though.

This was the new normal and Mr. Lancer had to get used to it. And so did everyone else in Amity. 


	2. Chapter 2

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Hey, guys so here’s chapter two.
> 
> Hope you enjoy and please feel free to leave a comment or review. Trust me I read all of them, I also try to respond to as many as I can too.

-DP-

Amity was honestly the best assignment. New GIW Cadets would fight over the chance to shadow senior agents here. Sure, it was not the only place that had paranormal activity, it wasn’t even the most dangerous place with Paranormal activity believe it or not. But it sure as heck was the most exciting.

The city always had something going on, and not to mention it was the stomping ground for a half-human half-ghost hybrid. Danny had been the talk of the organization for years now. The boy liked to think he was slick, keeping his abilities a secrete. But the reality of the situation was that the government had known about him for a long time.

In today's day and age where the average citizen's phone can be used to track their every movement and conversation, nothing is a secrete anymore. Once you were on the government’s radar you stayed there. And Unfortunately for Danny, he had been born to parents that have been heavily watched and monitored as potential a domestic terrorist threat since their college years. Their entire house was bugged. They had agents assigned to watch them since the 90s.

It was all too easy to bug the Fenton household. All you had to do was express some interest in the paranormal. Jack and Maddie were so passionate about their research and desperate to be taken seriously that they would rant to anyone who would listen. Often inviting people they barely knew into their house. Undercover agents had no problem tapping the phones and placing nearly invisible cameras in random places. The only place they had never been able to bug was their lab. The Fenton’s never brought anyone down there.

So, the GIW did not know what caused Danny to become a half-ghost, but they knew it was down there. It was frustrating, they could gather a ton of other information from the endless text messages between the hybrid and his two best friends. Team Phantom (as the children called themselves) did not even try to hide the fact that they were ghost hunting or that one of their friends suddenly had superpowers. The GIW still had every meltdown phone call or text message conversation Danny had surrounding his complete freak out over his new abilities, but they only ever referred to his genesis as the accident. That was it. It was the accident.

The accident wasn’t the only black spot in their attempt to understand the hybrid better. For one, finding out today that the hybrid had apparently had the right to claim the “throne of the infinite realms” was new information.

The Government had humored Danny and kept him around because he was useful. Their understanding of the paranormal skyrocketed as an organization thanks to the young hybrid. Not to mention he was honestly more capable of handling the paranormal threats that plagued the town. So long as he was a good boy, they were fine with keeping him around. But now that he was apparently in line to become the next ghost king……..that changed things……

The day the boy lead the ghosts out of the ghost zone to aid the earth in its time of need scarred a lot of the heads at the GIW. There were 12 Heads, they were the board that controlled the GIW and made decisions about its operations and practices. And they were very much split over Danny. A few had come to love the kid, trusted him, cheered him on from the sidelines. Others felt differently….

The ones that argued that the hybrid had nothing but good intentions were able to Stifel the paranoia surrounding the ghost army incident by reminding all of them what the hybrid had said about the ghost zone and the human world being linked. If one was destroyed, then the other would be too. That is what the hybrid had argued when the GIW had tried to destroy the ghost zone months earlier. 

After seeing the ghost army, they were starting to really consider the linking theory to be true.

But now that they knew Danny not only had friends in the ghost zone but was the rightful monarch as the yeti ghost put it, well that put a whole new twist to things didn’t it?

Those ghosts may have just been following the wishes of their king.

And given all the data they were able to pull from various sources describing how powerful the previous ghost king was…. Well, it made them revaluate Phantom. They knew Danny was strong. But that strong? Strong enough to wipe out a ghost that was the strongest in the ghost zone (so the old texts claimed anyway), well it made him a bigger threat than they had originally realized. And now with his secrete being public, and his popularity as a trusted figure growing favorably, he was untouchable. 

The GIW was waiting for the other shoe to drop at this point.

And agent O knew he should show some caution around the boy. That he should treat him like he would any other paranormal threat.

But Danny had grown on him….

He watched as the hybrid used his intangibility to run out into traffic to pull a turtle out of the road so it would not get squished. The boy gently placed it back in the safety of the grass of Amity’s Gardens.

Danny was different.

“Well, if it isn’t Inviso-bill,” Agent O teased.

“Mr. Bentley!” Danny said with a laugh “come on you know how much I hate being called that!”

“Yup and it is for that exact reason that I am going to keep calling you it, besides, it gets you more riled up than when I call you space cadet!”

“You’re lucky you’re the one that delivers my model rockets and subscription to Cosmos science weekly.” Danny joked as he shot the man a lighthearted glare.

Agent O had been undercover as the Fenton’s mailman for as long as he could remember now. He was specifically assigned to watch Danny. Gather intel and report back to the GIW weekly on how the boy was doing. He had long logs going back 2 years now that detailed Danny’s mental, emotional, and physical state at the end of each week and any change to his personality or powers. It was his job to poke at the boy as well.

“Hmmm, so that’s the only reason you talk to me huh? That’s just cold.”

Danny was taken back by that response.

“Oh no no no, sorry I meant that as a joke, God I probably sounded like a dick” Danny apologized earnestly.

Agent O could already see the anxiety and guilt flooding the boy’s blue eyes. He sighed; Danny was very different.

“Whoa no need to apologize, I rather like feeling useful you know.” Agent O joked as he patted the young hybrid on the back. “Besides, someone has to keep the ghost king satiated right?”

Danny froze.

“So…you heard about that too huh..”

Agent O watched as the halfa began to fiddle with his hoodie strings nervously.

“Hard not too, it’s been the talk of the town for a while now you know.”

“R-re-really?” Danny squeaked out, his complexion somehow becoming paler than normal.

Agent O did not understand why the boy was entirely so nervous now.

“Yup, I should know. I am your local friendly neighborhood mailman after all. I see and hear everything in this town. You would be surprised how much people gossip! Now that is about it though, just rumors. Cannot confirm any of it normally. But I gotta say, this ghost king thing, I am dying to know if it’s true or not!”

“It’s not.” Danny Bit out. His nervousness giving way to bitterness.

Agent O was taken back by the sudden mood change.

“I never claimed the crown, so I am not king, and I don’t ever plan on being king either. No matter how many other ghosts want me to.” Danny Growled, eyes flashing green. “And I really wish people would just stop talking about it already!”

Agent O backed up. He was nervous now; he had never seen the hybrid's eyes flash that bright before while still in human form. 

Danny seemed to pick up on that. The hybrid looked like he wanted to say more but deflated. Guilt filling his now blue eyes once again.

“Sorry, I didn’t mean to scare you.” Danny apologized, not making eye contact with the agent.

“It’s okay Danny.”

“No, it’s really not.” Danny’s voice hitched as he pulled his hood over his head. It obscured his face, but it did not take a genius to know that the halfa was trying not to cry. “I just don’t want anyone to fear me…. or to hate me…I don’t….”

The hybrid trailed off, wiping his nose on his sleeve as he tried to conceal the sniffles that came with crying. 

Danny was very different.

Agent O felt bad. He did this. It was his job to collect information, but sometimes he really hated what he did for a living. Especially when things like this happened. Danny could be an ass sometimes sure, but he was a sweet kid. And he did a lot for his town. Heck, the world even. The GIW was aware of multiple ghosts that if they ever left amity, and Danny was unable to stop them, would mean serious trouble for the rest of the world. The kid was 15 years old now, he had been humanity's best line defense for a while. That was a lot, a big responsibility. He was sure it weighed on Danny. 

He pulled the young hybrid in for a hug. He was going to get shit for this later he was sure, but the boy needed it.

Danny stiffened before returning it back.

“Now how could anyone be afraid of a little space cadet like you.” Agent O said softly as he hugged the boy a bit tighter. He didn’t care what those paranoid Bastards at the GIW thought, this kid wasn’t the monster they made him out to be.

Danny was different.

-DP-


	3. Chapter 3

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Hey guys so actual ghost king mentions in this chapter, it’s going to have my own spin on things though. Crowns really aren’t Danny’s thing, and I rather amp up the angst thanks. Also lots of hurt comfort between him and Val.

-DP- 

The cold panic and guilt never left Val’s stomach as she kept glancing over at Danny. She could tell he was just as uncomfortable as she was, but she needed to talk to him. Especially before they were about to go an entire period in a class together like they did yesterday. The tension between them was thick and it was Painful, and Val did not like it.   
She walked up to where Danny was sitting under a tree in the school courtyard, he was eating his lunch alone. He looked miserable. He had his earbuds in, no doubt trying to drown out the nervous whispers of the people around him who were trying to decide if they should invite him to eat with them. But they were too anxious to commit.   
Val pushed past the crowd.

“Hey, nerd.” She said casually but loud enough for Danny to hear over his music. The crowd behind her gasped, whispering about how rude it was for her to call him that. Val rolled her eyes, she had heard all of them call him worse before.   
Danny glanced up at her, a half-smile tugging on his lips. 

“Hey.”

“Hey,” Val responded back, her hands wringing around her book bag straps. “Do you maybe want to go somewhere private and talk?”

Val stood there awkwardly as she waited for Danny’s response. Her hands now clenched in fists at her side, not out of anger for once. But out of anxiety. 

The young half ghost seemed to pounder the request for a little too long, Val could see the slight distrust in his eyes. It made her heart hurt. She loved Danny. She really loved Danny, and to know she had been hurting him all this time…. It ate at her. She would not be surprised if he did not want anything to do with her.   
She was so stuck in her thoughts that she did not notice Danny had stood up till after he laced his fingers around one of her clenched fists.   
The action surprised Valerie, and it also brought her back to a simpler time. Her mind was suddenly flooded with the memory of kissing Danny. How good his cold lips felt against hers. She could not stifle the blush that crept up her neck. Secretly thanking god for making Danny as clueless as he was. 

Whispers broke out behind her. She could hear them. 

“Do you mind if I pick the spot to talk?” 

Val turned her attention back to Danny. 

“Of course not, go ahead.” 

Danny smirked, eyes suddenly glowing green before the world and Danny blurred around her. Valerie screwed her eyes shut, gripping onto Danny’s arm for dear life. He pulled her closer to him. If she had not been so terrified, she would have enjoyed being hugged by him again. 

“You can open your eyes now.”   
Val peaked up at Danny, his kind eyes regarding her with concern.   
“Your okay right? You’re the first person I have portal jumped with.”

“Portal Jumped?” she asked in confusion.

“Oh, right.” Danny rubbed the back of his neck awkwardly. “It’s a new power, I can kind of turn into a portal and blip in and out of places. Though I have to have been to the place I want to jump to in person before, or I’ll just fall on my ass.”  
“whoa,” Val said. She was still processing the fact that Danny had powers. To find out he could randomly get new ones was kind of insane. 

“Yeah,” Danny said with a laugh, “It’s kind of a morbid power though.”

Val was confused as to why being able to turn into a portal and basically teleport yourself wherever you want was morbid, but she did not press. She knew Danny well enough to know that humor was how he masked things that really hurt him. So instead, she glanced around. 

“Danny….” Val gasped as she took in her surroundings. She knew they were not in the human world anymore. She was standing on clouds……. The sky was cast in billions of stars that twinkled brightly.

“Welcome to Polaris,” Danny said with a smile. “My home away from home. The stars are brilliant, aren’t they? You know my lair has every known galaxy on display 24/7. Beautiful isn’t it?” 

“Yeah….” Val breathed out as she took in the whole place. Danny said home away from home. Was this his home in the ghost zone? She honestly would have never pictured Phantom’s home as being nothing but clouds and a starry night sky, but now that she knew Phantom was Danny….well, this was weirdly perfect for him. Just then something whizzed by her face and she shrieked, but whatever it was just continued on. Was that a shooting star??????  
She heard Danny chuckle from behind her.   
“Sorry about that, that was one of the mimics that lives in my lair.” He explained sheepishly.  
“Mimics?” Val asked, shooting Danny a quizzical look. 

“Oh right, you probably don’t know what those are, especially since I commanded the ones in amity to stay hidden from human sight…. How do I explain this?” Danny paused in thought.

There were ghosts that Danny kept hidden from humans in amity???????

“Oh, I got it!” Danny chirped “They’re like the Tsukumogami from that anime you like, the one you made me swear not to tell anyone about because you were embarrassed! You know the little ghosts that pretend to be objects?” 

“Danny…that was a shooting star….” Val said slowly. Not understanding.

“Well, yeah, of course, I mean have you seen Polaris?” Danny said as he gestured around his lair, “Mimics match the place they chose to live in. Ghosts kind of see them as customizable pets, but with benefits. They help keep the lair clean and their specific ectoplasm is a universal disinfectant and pain killer. Pretty cool right?” Danny grinned. “The ones in amity are spread out and normally take the form of mundane things like traffic lights and stop signs. They help keep an eye on my---on the city of amity when I am at school or away. I can speak with them telepathically since I have claimed them all as mine. It’s how I know about robberies or fires before the police even do most of the time.”

Val stared at the hybrid, wide-eyed. That was… a lot…

Danny’s smile dropped off his face. 

“I –you’re frightened of me…” He said softly, as he absentmindedly rubbed at his chest. His blue eyes looked like they were going to pool over. 

“what, no that’s not true at all,” Val said in a rush, she was not trying to make him feel like shit. She mentally cursed herself, she was so bad at this. 

“It’s okay, you don’t need to lie to me. I am part ghost you know. I know fear when I feel it.” Danny explained, “Maybe bring you here was too much at once.”

He could sense fear?? Val swallowed, but then shook her head. Danny was the nicest guy in existence, he always had her back. Even when she didn’t realize it. She loved him with all her heart still. That was why she broke up with him the first time around, the thought of him getting hurt or being upset…. It made her heart feel like it was splintering.   
She was pulled from her thoughts when Danny grabbed her hand again. 

“You’re sad now,” He said, his blue eyes were tinted with confusion and concern. “Did I do something to mess this up again? Because I swear Val, I wasn’t trying to intimidate you or scare you by bringing you here. I was…”  
Danny paused and took in a deep breathe, it almost looked like he was trying to steel himself over, but Val could not place why.   
“This is where a ghost is the most vulnerable. Their lair, I mean. I wanted to show you that I trust you still.” He said with a soft smile, as he gave her hand a squeeze. 

Oh.   
Val didn’t understand what about being in this place made Danny vulnerable but if that was the reason….

“This is a lot Danny,” Val started. 

“I know, it was a lot for Sam too.” He said pulling his hand away from hers, he looked so hurt. “It’s one of the reasons we broke up. Didn’t even last a week. She even took all honors classes to avoid me. I still don’t understand what I did, But I know I am a lot. I am sorry for that.” 

Val blinked in surprise, she didn’t know that he and Sam had broken up. 

“I am a lot too you know.” 

“What?” Danny asked in confusion. 

“I always thought the ghost hunting was too much for you, that you’d get hurt if you hung around me. It’s why I broke up with you initially.”

Danny stared at her with shocked eyes, mouth half-open like he was processing how to use it to speak again. 

“I love you, Danny Fenton, I never stopped.” This time it was her turn to grab his hand and give it a squeeze. She smiled up at him. “And I can love Phantom just as much, because when it comes down to it. He’s still you, and I hope you can forgive me for everything I have done in the past because I want you to be my future…. if you’ll give me a shot.” 

Val cast her eyes down to her feet as she waited anxiously for a reply. 

She was not expecting Danny to grab her lightly by the chin and press his cold lips against hers. She melted into the kiss, and Danny pulled her in closer.   
Val traced her hands down his arms, planning to place his hands on her hips, but stopped at his forearms when she felt something hard and unnaturally cold buzzing under his hoodie.   
“Danny?” She said pulling away from the kiss ever so slightly.   
“Yes?” the halfa hummed happily, pressing his forehead against hers. His kind eyes patiently waiting for a reply.   
“What’s on your arms?” she said as she gave the area a squeeze.   
Danny went ridged and pulled away, Pulling his hood sleeves down further.   
“Nothing!” He blurted out, eyes wide in a panic.   
Val tilted her head, that reaction sure wasn’t nothing. She shot the halfa a quizzical look. 

“I just told you I love you.” She said, before gesturing down to Danny’s arms. “Whatever that is, isn’t going to change that. I swear.” 

Danny shifted uncomfortably. 

“You won’t freak out if I tell you?” 

“I will do my best not to, but at the end of the Day I will still love you.” She said as she moved to sit down on the clouds, they weirdly morphed up to meet her. Almost taking the form of a bean bag chair. Val was shocked at first but took it in stride. “Want to come sit down and tell me?”   
Danny sighed and plopped down next to her. 

“You remember when the ghost king attacked Amity?” 

“Yeah, that was the night you unmasked me in front of my dad,” Val said with a chuckle. 

“Sorry about that, I was worried you were going to get hurt,” Danny said sheepishly. 

“Don’t worry about it ghost boy,” Val said as she patted him on the back. 

“Been a while since you called me that,” Danny said with a laugh before getting serious again. “That night I had to fight the ghost king, I won. I didn’t know at the time but apparently, the title is passed on by combat.”

Valerie went pale but didn’t stop him from talking. He was very focused on the ground in front of him, but his eyes seemed to be far away. Lost in a memory he wished he never experienced; she was sure. 

“That fight was the closest I have ever gotten to…well let’s just say I thought I wasn’t going to make it home.” He said softly. “At the end of it, I just collapsed…I was so tired…”

Val reached out and grabbed his hand. Danny froze and blinked up at her. 

“But, I just told you that I am the new ghost king?” He blurted out with shocked eyes. 

She had never seen a person look so hopeful and so confused before. It dawned on her that maybe this was the reason Sam left him, but she wasn’t about to ask. She squeezed his hand tight.

“You’re not afraid.” He said breathlessly, looking up at her like she was some type of godsend that he didn’t deserve. 

“No, not at all,” Val said reassuringly. 

“No, no, I know that..” Danny said a smile gracing his face. “I can sense fear remember?”   
Val’s heart warmed at the sight of his smile. 

“So, you going to finish your story, your highness?” She joked as she leaned in closer to give him a peck on the check.   
Danny looked like he was going to burst with happiness. His hand touching the place on his cheek where she kissed him. Like he couldn’t believe it just happened. 

“I guess I can,” he said, his face flushing bright red. He cleared his throat and regained his composure. His eyes looked like they were far away again. 

“The room suddenly got really bright, like to the point that it was blinding, and then suddenly the light went away, but the throne room was different. It looked new, and not creepy. And there was this tall lady there. She had the ring of rage and the crown of fire on a silk pillow. She told me they were mine now, but I told her that I didn’t want them. That that much power and responsibility would be like shackles. The lady cut me off and said something about how I had chosen a new form for the royal symbol. Suddenly I was in immense pain and my forearms were lit up in glowing green energy and well...” He pulled up his sleeves to reveal two shackles that almost looked like Vambraces. They were swirled in icy white lettering in a language she didn’t know and studded with green gems that clashed with the black color of the shackles themselves. 

They were beautiful, but the angry red color of Danny’s skin that was closest to them did not go unnoticed. 

“I think it’s because I left the ghost zone.” He said, reading her mind. “Any time I do they burn me. It’s like I am literally shackled to this dimension now. I don’t know what to do about it. I never wanted to be king, but the longer I stay away from the throne the more it hurts.” 

Val hated what she was hearing, Danny didn’t deserve this. 

“Did you tell your parents?” Val asked softly, giving his hand a squeeze again in support. 

Danny shook his head. 

“I am afraid of what they will say. I mean I had just got up the courage to tell Sam, after hiding them for so long under long sleeves and just bearing the pain, and she just….” 

Danny’s voice hitched and Val immediately pulled him into a hug, the halfa hugged her back even tighter. 

“Thank you for not hating me.” 

Val felt her heart clench, he had said that so softly that she almost didn’t hear it. She hugged him tighter. 

“You don’t have to bear this alone anymore you know. And I don’t know what was going on with Sam but there’s no way that Tucker wouldn’t do everything he could to support you with this too. And I think you should tell your parents. They deserve to know, especially if this is hurting you like this. I’ll come with you to break the news if you want, but you need to Danny. They may be able to help.”

Danny was silent but didn’t pull away from the hug. 

“We should get back to school. I think it’s almost the end of fourth period.”

-DP-

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Okay, I am tapping out at 11 pages. The rest of this will be continued in the next chapter because Val and Danny are still supposed to face off in their debate class next period.   
> Hope you enjoyed it!   
> Let me know what you think and leave a review!

**Author's Note:**

> Leave a review and tell me what you think! Hope you enjoyed it! And yes, all these one-shots are going to be interconnected. So, it’s like a long story that jumps around I guess lol.


End file.
